Harvard U. quietly buys up 52.6 acres of Boston area land

Harvard University officials revealed this summer that they spent $88 million over the last eight years to secretly acquire more than 52.6 acres of land in the Allston area of Boston, located across the Charles River from Harvard's Cambridge campus. In order to hide its involvement in the deals, Harvard purchased the properties -- which include a shopping center, a vacant Sears building and the site of a former concrete plant -- through the Beal Companies of Boston. The university now owns 220 acres in Cambridge and 192 acres in Allston. While most people associate Harvard with Cambridge, the Harvard Business School and Alumni Stadium are both already located in Allston, on top of the additional properties. In a letter to Harvard President Neal Rudenstine, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he was disappointed the university chose to conceal its identity rather than being up front with the city. He said the recent real estate dealings represent "the highest level of arrogance seen in our city in many years." But Harvard spokesperson Joe Wrinn said buying anonymously through an agent was "fiscally prudent" because it allowed the university to attain the properties at a fair price. If the sellers had known they were dealing with Harvard -- with an endowment of more than $9 billion -- Wrinn speculated they would have driven prices out of the range Harvard officials found acceptable. While Harvard does not yet know how it will use the new Allston land, Vice President for Administration Sally Zeckhauser explained that "it is essential, with an educational institution, to ensure that there are enough physical resources to sustain future academic programs." She called the recent acquisitions "an investment in the future of both Harvard and Allston." The acquisitions provide an opportunity for the university to work with community members to encourage Allston's economic development, said Kathy Spiegelman, a Harvard official in charge of real estate. "We believe that by planning for Harvard's future in Allston, we can be part of Allston's full participation in the positive economic development of Boston," she said. "We are committed to working with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and our Allston neighbors toward the realization of that goal." About twenty years ago, Penn came under heavy fire itself for asking Philadelphia to grant the University control over land near Market Street to build what is now the Science Center. Other large urban universities have also faced serious opposition to large land deals from local residents. Defending Harvard's involvement, Zeckhauser said Beal continues to handle day-to-day management of the properties. "Harvard plans to continue to lease the properties in the near term, aiming to encourage uses compatible with the interests of adjacent residential areas and conducive to the area's economic vitality."

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